Engine-starter.



"C. I* COLEMAN.

ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.24, 19H.

Patented July 25, 1916.

I III I III n Swoon/1,170?,

f I Nf I I UNITED STATES PATENT-.-errion CLYDE J. COLEMAN, 0F NEW YORiK,N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO (.'EONIRAZD HUBERT., OF VVIIEII'LE` PLAINS, NEW`YOBK.

ENGINE-STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, i916.

To all whom t may concern l Be it known that I, CLYDE J. COLEMAN, acitizen of the United States', residing in the borough of Manhattan,city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Startbility ofconstruction, and reliability and convenience of operation.

Other objects of my invention are the,l

separate construction of thev gearing and the ability to attach the sameto the Hy wheel of any engine.

A further object of my invention is that it enables any power-storingdevice adapted for use with my improved gear construction to impart itsmovement to an engine at any fiy wheel or other wheel of the engine andavoids the necessity of providing a special fly wheel for an engine inconnection with a starting device.

I shall now describe the embodiment of myinvention illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, and shallthereafter point out my invention inclaims.

Figure l is .a partial longitudinal elevation of the gearing embodyingmy invention, shown as applied to the fly wheel of an engine and 'in itsrelation to a powerstoring device for starting the engine, the

power-storing device being shown in section. Fig. 2 is an end elevationof the complementary member adapted to engage with the gearing on thefly wheel. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the chain gear.Fig. v4lis ,a cross-sectional-view taken on the line 4l-4 of Fig. llooking toward the right.

My improved gear consists of a separate and removable'band or chainprovided withI ear teeth or gear-tooth-engaging parts and 1s adapted tobe removably secured about the periphery of .a fly wheel.

'In its illustrated form the gearing com: prises a chain 24 composed ofa succession of double links joined together by transverse studs 25 andsecured to the fly wheel 2 by screws through the spaces between. thepivots of the chain and screwed into the fly wheel. The chain is made asnearly as possible to fit the particular fly wheel to which it is to beattached,'.and the pitch is determined without calculation, by the linksthemselves, any looseness of fit on the Hy wheel being taken up by asuitable bushing. The studs25 project from the side of the chain 24toward the movable gear wheel' 11 hereinafter described. Since thesechain gears are intended to be applied to fly wheels of variousdiameters, it is desirabie that the pitch line of the teeth may bealtered without affecting theirability to mesh with the teeth of thelcoperating gear wheel, and this is accomplished by making the studscircular in cross-section, and it is ap-Y parent that, with. such teeth,the diameter of the ily wheel may be changed at will. To facilitatemeshing as the sliding gear wheel is moved forward, the ends of thestuds 25 are tapered or pointed,.and the forward edges ofthe gear teethon the wheel and gear wheel 11 are beveled off,l as is shown in Fig. 2.

As heretofore stated, my improved gear construction is adapted to beused in connection with .a power-storing device foi starting an engineand the drawings illustrate such an application of my invention.

The power-storing, device used to start the 'engine isan entirelyindependent structure.v which can be attachedas an accessory, the onlyrequirement being that a slidable transmitting gear on the starter bearranged `so that it can be moved intoA mesh with my removable gearwhich is attached to the periphery of the fly wheel.

The illustrated starter consists of a helical torsional spring '3 coiledin tubular shape. This power spring, which is contained ina casing 4, isconnected at its rear end to a winding disk 5 and at its front end to astarting disk 6.

The means for transmitting rotary motion from the starting disk 6 to thefly wheel 2` is as follows: The starting disk is mounted free `to rotateon a forwardly extending-rotary shaft 7, and is connected by faceratchet teeth to a ratchet 29 pinned to the shaft 7,

thus imparting rotation vto the shaft 7 in drawn back and the after theengine is started and before the power spring is disconnected from thefly wheel. An irregularly shaped head 8 forms a closure for the forwardend of the casing 4 and serves as a bearing for the shaft 7. A gearWheel supporting member'9 is pinned to front squared end of its shaft 7,and is provided with two rearwardly extending guide pins 10,v on Whichareslidably mounted a gear wheelll fitting over the shaft 7 so as toslide thereon and held by the pins 10 so as to rotate with the shaft,and having a rearwardly extending hub 12 provided near its rear endwitha circumferential slot 13.

To slide the gear. wheel 11 forward and back on the pins 10 and theshaft 7, a-bifurcated member 14 is provided, vwhich straddles the head 8and is pivoted near the top thereof on a pivot pin 15. The sides of thehead 8 are flattened at this point and the central bore which serves asa bearing for the shaft 7 is enlarged and serves as a guide for the hub12. Each of the forks of bifurcated member 14 is provided at its lowerend with a pin (not shown) which engages in the slot 13 in the hub` 12of. the sliding gear 11, and it is apparent that, as the bifurcatedmember is rocked on its pivot pin 15, the gear wheel 11 will be causedto slide forward and back on the shaft 7 and pins 10. Flat springs 17,attached tothe head 8 on shoulders formed by flattened faces on eachside of the head, bear against the bi furcated member 14 above the pivot15 and normally hold the gear 11 in retracted po- Sition. To slide thegear 11 forward into mesh with the gear teeth on the -fly wheel 2,manually controlled means are provided consisting of a flexible cord 18secured to the upper end of the bifurcated member 14 and passing overthe head 19 on the-top of the bifurcated member and through an openingin a lug 20 secured tothe topof the head 8, and thence to connectionwith a foot pedal or other means under the control of the driver. It isapparent that, as a pull is vexerted von'the cord 18, the upper end ofthe bifurcated member 14 Awill be gear wheel 11 thus forced forward.

In retracted position, the gear wheel 11 is held against rotation by twodogs 21, which normally bear against the forwardly vprojecting lreducedends 22 of the stationary head 8. The gear Wheel is so disposedlrelative to the fly wheel 2 that, as it is moved toward the fly Wheel',its teeth mesh with those on the fly Wheel -before th dogs 21 clear' theprojecting ends or stoparms 22 .and before the power spring is released.and further movement causes the gear wheel to Inove further into meshwith the teeth on the iiy Wheel and at the same time release the ogs 21from the arms 22. The rotation of the gear wheel l1 causes the dogs 21to ily outwardly on their pivots by centrifugal the fly Wheel, one orboth of the dogs 21 fall.

by gravity and engage one or both of the stop arms 22 and therebylock`thespring 3 against further unwinding movement, sov

that power may be stored therein by means to be. described hereinafter.

The power spring 3 tends to rotate the starting disk 6, and thisrotative tendency is transmitted through the ratchet 29 and the shaft 7,the gear-supporting member 9 and pins 10 to the sliding gear `11: but inthe position shown in the drawings, the gear wheel is restrained fromrotation by the engagement of the dogs 21 against the arms 22 on thestationary head 8.. vIt is manifest, however, that when a pull isexerted on the cord 18, the gear wheel is caused to slide forward on theguide pins 10, and the gear wheel will be free to rotate as soon as thedogs 21 have cleared the endsof the arms 22.

.The pulling of the cord 18 both releases the gear 11 from non-rotativeposition and permits it to be rotated by the spring 3 through theconnection previously described and connects the gear Wheel with the'flywheel so that the rotation of the gear wheel 11 is utilized in rotatingthe fly wheel and starting the engine.

The continued rotation of the fly wheel after the spring 3 has beencompletely un- Wound'- will rotate the ratchet 29, but is nottransmitted to the spring due to the one way connection with thestarting disk 6. r1`he movement of the teeth of the ratchet over i theteeth of the ratchet on the hub of the disk 6, however, tends toseparate the two parts and a backward movement of the disk 6 onthevshaft 7 ispermitted by a coiled spring 26'surrounding the inner endof the shaft 7 and bears against a plate 27 on the inner ends of theshaft and against an inwardly extending hub 28 on the disk 6, and holdsthe starting disk `6 in yielding engagenient with the ratchet 29. rl[`hehub 28 of the starting disk has a spline connection with a sleeve 30which extends internally of the. power spring 3, and whichis -providedat its rear end with a pin which engages in a circumferential slot 31 inthe winding disk y 5. Independent rotation of the winding disk 5 andv ofthe sleeve 80 is thereby permitted.

A motor .32 is suitably connected to the winding disk 5 by means of adouble worm secured to a ihub 46 extending from the winding disk 5. Thestud 42 is secured in a supporting disk 44 screwed into the tubularcasing 4. The gear bearing block 35 is supported on the supporting disk44 by means of rods 45 extending through the gear bearing block andscrewed into the supporting disk 4. y

The operation of the power spring may'be 'used to automatically controlthe motor 32,

in any suitable manner.

The starter is supported on suitable brackets in any convenient place,the only requirement being that the sliding gear 11 be so disposed thatit can be moved into mesh with the gear teeth on the y of the engine,but since these gear teeth may be attached so that they project ineither direction, the starter may be placed as may be most convenientfor the particular type of automobile to which it is attached, extendingeither forward or rearward of the fly wheel and at any suitable place inrelation to the fly wheel. l

It is apparent that my improved gear construction is adapted to and canbe used for various other purposes where gearing is required. o

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the constructionshown in the drawings and above particularly described within` theprinciple and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A gear mechanism comprising vtwo cooperative rotary members, oneaxially bodily movable to and from its complementary member, and afiexible member having gear teeth formed therein mounted on theperiphery of one of said members and attached thereto and arranged tomesh with gear teeth on the complementary member.

2. A gear mechanism comprising two co operative rotary members, oneaxially bodily movable to and from its complementary member, and aflexible member mounted on the periphery of one of said members andattached thereto and having gear teeth projecting from one edgethereofand arranged to mesh with gear teeth on the complementary member. v

4 3.- A lgear mechanism comprising two cooperative -rotary members, oneaxially bodily movable to and from `its complementary member, and aflexible member' mounted on the periphery of one of said members andattached thereto and having substantially round gear teeth projectingfrom one edge thereof and arranged to mesh with gear teeth on thecomplementary member.

4. A gear mechanism comprising two cooperative rotary members, oneaxially bodily movable to and from its complementary member and a chainmember mounted on.

CLYDE J. COLEMAN.'

Witnesses:

" WM. ASHLEY KELLY,

A BERNARD CowEN.

